


Staring Into the Sun

by niebieskameliska



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Additional Warnings Apply, Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Domestic Fluff, Gen, Male-Female Friendship, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Post-Canon, Wordcount: 1.000-5.000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-17
Updated: 2020-09-17
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:01:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26513368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/niebieskameliska/pseuds/niebieskameliska
Summary: And the gentleness that comes,not from the absence of violence, but despitethe abundance of it.
Relationships: Akechi Goro & Takamaki Ann, No Romantic Relationship(s)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 46





	Staring Into the Sun

**Author's Note:**

>   * **additional warnings in the end notes**
>   * beta by sparrow (@ikuzonos) and emil (@qorocore on twt), thank you c:
> 


Tugging the blanket free from around herself, Ann stretches her arms with a yawn. Her joints are stiff after all the time she spent in one position, gawking at the screen while chatting with Goro. She gazes at him, studying his expression. He's sprawled out on the armchair, lying across it with his feet in the air; his eyes are closed, the permanent wrinkles around them gone for once. Ann grins. Good for him. She reaches for the remote and pauses the stream of a Netflix show Goro wanted to watch with her, then glances at the table and scowls. They've run out of snacks.

The sound of her feet hitting the carpet is enough to wake Goro up. He's such a light sleeper, jerking up because of the slightest noise. Ann grimaces. "Sorry," she murmurs. He squints at her, then rolls his eyes. 

"Don't worry," he replies, voice a bit softer after the sleep but still flat, with an edge of exhaustion. Just as all the time now. Still, it's better than it used to be, because once Goro sounded like a man without a soul. Ann pushes the memory away and smiles. She gets a little smirk as a reply, just a corner of the mouth lifting slightly. It's progress.

"I'm gonna get snacks, you stay put," she says, padding over to the kitchen. She locates the cupboard with Goro’s stuff; today, it’s mostly vegan potato chips, rice cereal rounds, and bags of dried apple slices. Picking out one pack at random, Ann moves one shelf down to grab a box of dark cocoa cookies. Yeah, Goro's penchant for fancy food has been rubbing off on her. As she places the snacks in his reach, she considers asking him to make her a coffee (he's gotten quite good at it, plus he doesn’t bitch about Ann’s love for milk foam), but she ends up procuring a bottle of lemonade. The label says the main ingredient is birch sap. 

Ann shakes her head and plops down onto the couch, pulling the blanket back back over herself. It's also one of Goro's impulsive online purchases, a monstrosity made out of thick beige microfiber that makes you sweat in under five minutes. It took almost two weeks before Goro lost interest and left it in the living room to Ann's utter joy. He even allowed to be hugged briefly in thanks. 

Little steps, huh? One day at a time. Yawning again, Ann watches Goro get up and brush through his hair with his bare fingers. When it's tied back into a little ponytail, he seizes a pack of cigarettes and makes his way to the balcony. Ann gives him a nod, then rests her head on the armrest. She sips on her lemonade — strange but okay — and half-heartedly checks her Instagram. A burst of cold air passes through the room; Ann glances up to peer at Goro. With his back turned to her, it's hard to assess his state, but at least he's not curled up, tense, ready to attack. As the thin line of smoke raises up, he relaxes his shoulders and rolls them with genuine energy. Another good sign. It's quite relieving. The past few weeks have been tense, with Goro getting plagued by flashbacks that left him unsteady and Ann trying to help him endure this, but for the couple past days — it's been better. There were those small smiles, light talks about food and fashion, the willingness to hang out. 

Back when Ann found Goro alive but barely hanging on, she wouldn't expect just how joyful it would be to see him slowly but surely get better. Get back on his feet. Take care of himself while living in Ann's apartment, hidden away from the world. The cost? There's no longer a spare bedroom, there's less counter space due to about fifty new kitchen tools, and the number of skincare and beauty products scattered over the bathroom is getting quite ridiculous. Baby Ann, the one with an apartment from her parents and a toe dipping deeper into the modeling world, would totally lose her marbles. Last time that little Ann saw Goro, he sacrificed himself to save her and her friends. She had nightmares about that evening for months. Gunshots, broken masks, a smile with bloodied lips, except the bullet would go through Akira's head, or Goro's own.

Her mouth goes dry. Ann inhales, nice and slow, then opens her eyes when she hears a door open, then close. Goro reclaims his spot and frowns. 

"You appear troubled," he says carefully. 

Ann grits her teeth. "Got lost in thoughts," she responds, just as attentive to keep her voice gentle. Breathe in, out, then comes honesty. "I am so glad you're here with me, you know? I just wanna make sure." She grins, and Goro furrows his brows. He crosses his legs and reaches for the pilot to twirl it in his fingers. It takes a while before he speaks out.

"I feel the same." He looks Ann straight in the eye and grimaces before saying stiffly, "You're a good friend to me."

"Okay, sir, geez! Why so formal?" Ann chuckles, maybe a bit hysterically. He ruined the mood just like that! "Goro-san, you're one of two people which I trust to put make-up on me, chill out!." He opens his mouth, but she raises a finger and adds, "The other one is Yusuke. He asked about a tutorial I was watching and a week later persuaded to let him play with an eye-shadow palette. It was a-ma-zing."

Goro jerks his head in a sort of half-nod, lips twitching. "Quite the artist, this one. I am not surprised neither Sakamoto nor Sakura are on the list." Ann laughs again; he relaxes and reaches for the snacks.

"It would be a disaster. Ryuji once spilled my cup of coffee onto these cute white shorts I just got on sale! I almost strangled him.”

Goro snorts in apparent amusement. He clicks the play button on the remote, making the TV come to life with another episode of the series. It's as cool as he made it sound, Ann decides and stuffs her face with her own snacks. The English audio flows over them, and the evening goes on, soft, simple, and serene.

**Author's Note:**

> a/n
> 
>   * **cw: smoking; implied ptsd; violence imagery; brief suicide imagery**
>   * if you read/liked, please leave kudo/comment c:
>   * title from lor's 'bye bye, sun francisco', which is my #1 song of quarantine; summary is a richard siken quote bc i am gay and depressed
>   * i really like the post-canon roommates anngoro au. it's cute ok
>   * i tried some birch juice once. is good lol
>   * my social media (tumblr/twt) is @soniagiris o/
> 



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